St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary  On the First Epistle to the

St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary  On the First Epistle to the Corinthians

â€œI will not hide from you the secrets (sacraments) of God, but will trace out her course from the beginning of creation and make the knowledge of her clear and will not pass by the truthâ€ (Wis 6:22).
1. â€“ The word â€œsacramentâ€ can be taken in two senses: sometimes it means something secret, particularly in regard to sacred things; and sometimes it means the sign of a sacred thing, in the sense of being its image and cause. It is in this second sense that we speak of the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders and matrimony. Furthermore, the first sense is then included in this second sense, for a divine power is secretly at work in these sacraments of the Church, as Augustine says.
2. â€“ Consequently, these sacraments of God should not be concealed but laid bare to Christâ€™s faithful by their teachers and prelates for three reasons.
First, because this redounds to Godâ€™s honor: â€œIt is good to hide the secret of the King, but honorable to reveal and confess the works of the Lordâ€ (Tob 12:7).
Secondly, because this is needed for the salvation of men, who could lapse into despair from not
knowing them, for Wisdom (2:22) says that some men â€œdid not know the secret purposes of God, nor hope for the wages of holiness,â€ because men are purified by the sacraments and prepared for receiving the wages of holiness.
Thirdly, because this is a duty of teachers and prelates as pointed out by the Apostle: â€œTo me, though I am the very least of the saints, this grace was given, to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in Godâ€ (Eph 3:8).
Thus the above text discloses to us the subject manner of this epistle, in which the Apostle discusses the sacraments of the Church. For since in the epistle to the Romans he had discussed Godâ€™s grace, which works in the seven sacraments, here in the first epistle to the Corinthians he discusses the sacraments themselves and in the second epistle to the Corinthians the ministers of the sacraments.
Let us turn, therefore, to the text.
Country USA
Author St. Thomas Aquinas
Binding Kindle Edition
Format Kindle eBook
NumberOfPages 285
PublicationDate 2010-04-22
ReleaseDate 2010-04-22

Country	USA
Author	St. Thomas Aquinas
Binding	Kindle Edition
Format	Kindle eBook
NumberOfPages	285
PublicationDate	2010-04-22
ReleaseDate	2010-04-22

St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary On the First Epistle to the Corinthians

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St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary  On the First Epistle to the Corinthians